


Nose Dive

by coolconnor95



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020) RPF
Genre: F/M, Suspence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 21:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30112362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolconnor95/pseuds/coolconnor95
Summary: As the car Grace and Judd are in sinks into the water, can they find a way to escape? Will help come in time? Or will there be no way out?
Relationships: Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	Nose Dive

**Author's Note:**

> Because I couldn't wait for the show to come back on to figure out what happened to Grace and Judd, I just had to write my own version. While I know this isn't what'll happen in the show, I hope it can tide us all over until we figure out what really happens.

For a few moments, everything felt surreal. Grace was used to helping people who were in an emergency, not being in one herself. Even when her husband had been in danger, she'd been talking to him from the other side of the phone, not watching the explosion happen right in front of her.

And yet, here she was, watching the car slowly fill up with water as it finally sunk that the car was going deeper into the water.

Those few, precious moments of shock were all that she could afford to waste. She instantly took off her seatbelt, looking to Judd. Her husband had been in many emergencies. He was quick to act most of the time. She'd never seen him freeze; before today.

She recognized the way his breath was coming out too fast, and that look in his eyes. Even with the water sloshing around her ankles and quickly rising, Grace felt a strange calm, as if she was back in the call operator center and trying to help someone through a panic attack.

"Judd, I need you to listen to my voice, okay?" she said as calmly and firmly as she could muster. "I need you to take off your seatbelt Judd. We need to get out of here."

He looked at her, his body starting to shake and his eyes so desperate. "I can't lose you Grace. Not like I lost everyone else."

"And you won't lose me if you do what I tell you," she reassured him, even though she wasn't sure if that was true and her heart was pounding in her chest. "I need you to take off your seatbelt Judd."

He finally did as he said, his hands fumbling for the release so he could finally free himself from the car.

Grace knew they couldn't count on first responders getting to them in time. They needed to find a way out themselves. Luckily, Grace had done enough reading and thinking about various emergency situations to have a plan.

"We need to roll down or break the window, and then swim out. Judd, I'm going to roll down the window, are you ready to follow me out? There's going to be a lot of water rushing in, but once it's in we can just swim right out."

Judd looked paler than normal, but he nodded. The water was rising quickly, so Grace reached for the window and tried to roll it down.

Nothing happened. The pressure of the water on the outside was too great. Before she could think of the next step, Judd's hand was on her shoulder. "I can't lose you Grace," he said in a trembling voice.

He wasn't thinking clearly. But now, neither was she. She couldn't help calm down her husband and get out of this situation while the water was already up to their waists. "Judd, we need to fo-" she tried to remind him, before something banged on the driver's side window loudly. She screamed as she looked past her husband, her mind telling her it was another threat they had to deal with.

* * *

It was a pretty bad storm. Paul knew that. And he also knew Marjan knew that. "Be careful, we're approaching a bridge," he reminded her from her passenger seat.

They were headed to a bar he'd recommended, to hang out just as friends. They'd invited Matteo, but he couldn't make it. It was a bit odd being around Marjan without anyone else from the 126, but not in a bad way. It felt nice.

"Paul, I know how to drive," she shot back, sounding a bit irritated with him for even bringing it up.

"It's not you I'm worried about. It's the people who make the mistakes that we get called to help deal with. Any distracted driver could slam into you, and a storm is one of the worst times to be distracted while driving."

"Alright, good point Strickland. But next time, you're going to drive if you –"

She never finished that thought. Paul was glad he'd warned her as he held onto the dashboard and Marjan slammed on the breaks. The cars in front of them were breaking, and he'd seen why.

Both of them were unbuckling their seatbelts as soon as the car was fully stopped. "Okay so you were right," she commented as Paul looked to her.

"No time. Car went over the edge of the bridge." It was on his side of the car. He'd seen it and known that if she was focused on the road, she likely hadn't.

As soon as he told her, she was reaching into her glovebox, pulling out a tool. He recognized it as a tool designed specifically for breaking car windows in the case of an emergency. And there was a spare, that she was soon handing to him. "That bar will have to wait. Time to go for a swim," she told him.

People were in danger. Paul knew that. He knew that every day he went into work, and yet there was still something fun about working with Marjan to save lives and solve deadly challenges.

"You get drivers side. I'll get passenger's" he told her quickly as they stepped out of the car. He wasn't sure how many people were in the car, but if there was only one, Marjan should be the one to save them. After all, she was the one who'd gone viral for jumping off a bridge to save lives before. She was always willing to rush headlong into danger if it meant she could save a life, and Paul admired that about her.

As they ran on the wet asphalt toward the car, someone else stepped out of their car. He looked concerned. "How can I help?" Paul stopped, letting Marjan keep running.

"Call 911." That was all he had time to say before resuming his running. He slipped out of his jacket as he ran, to get rid of the excess weight it'd cause once they were in the water.

Marjan was way ahead of him. She'd already dived in by the time he'd taken off his coat and reached where the car was. Looking down to determine where best to aim for, he took a second to take a deep breath, and then he jumped.

* * *

The water was cold, so cold that it almost knocked the air out of her. But she was prepared for the chill and the impact. Marjan knew what was needed of her, and was able to keep her breath as she swam toward the sinking car.

The driver's side window was where she slammed her tool into first. But in her haste, her grip slipped, and she didn't hit it hard enough to break the glass. It was the second hit that broke the window in, allowing water to rush into the car. Once the pressure was equalized, which only took a few seconds, Marjan went to grab the driver.

She froze as she recognized him. Judd wasn't even looking at her, he was reaching out toward Grace. But Marjan had to save his ass, and knew Paul was coming down shortly, so she grabbed him under his armpits, pulling him out of the car.

She kicked off it to give her the momentum she needed, and soon they were both at the surface, feeling rain splatter on their heads. Marjan took a deep breath in as Judd coughed out the water he'd almost inhaled as she'd broke the window. "Grace!" he was soon calling, as he tried to break free of her grip that was keeping him afloat.

"Easy there Judd, Paul's got her." Almost as soon as she was done speaking, the other two surfaced. Grace, unlike her husband, was swimming on her own. Both of them gasped for air, and Marjan let Judd go. He swam straight to Grace, trying to hug her even though such a touch was awkward in the water.

"Grace, you're okay!"

"Yes, Judd, I'm right here. I'm right here."

Marjan swam closer, wanting to keep an eye on Judd since he obviously wasn't okay. His tears were hitting the water along with the raindrops. They needed to keep an eye on him until they got back onto the bridge.

Paul met her gaze, but as much as she wanted to let the couple have more time to recover, in the middle of the water was not the place for that. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get to shore. We should be able to swim over there and get back up to the bridge."

Judd finally stopped trying to hug Grace, nodding at Marjan. "Thank you both. You're right Marjan."

The four swam a bit slowly for Marjan's liking. Judd seemed to be hanging back to make sure Grace was doing okay, even though she obviously knew how to swim. He seemed so worried about her, but as far as Marjan could tell, she was fine.

Of course, she was leading the way to shore. Paul was taking up the rear, likely trying to make sure that the others were alright. So maybe she was missing something that he'd notice. He always did seem to notice everything.

As the water got shallower, she was able to wade the rest of the way to shore. Grace was too … but that's when Judd started to move even slower. Paul was quickly at his side, putting Judd's arm over his shoulders. "Hurt your leg in the crash?"

Judd nodded, and Marjan was shocked. But he'd acted like he was fine! He'd been so worried about Grace … but some people were like that, weren't they? They'd put themselves last even when they needed to be taken care of. In fact, first responders tended to be like that a lot. Judd was so used to putting people first that he'd done it again.

"Hold onto me Judd. An ambulance should be coming," she could hear Paul advise as Grace went to Judd's other side to help him walk. "I told someone to call 911."

Paul was always so thoughtful, so prepared. While she rushed into things bravely, he took time to assess the situation and make the wisest choices. He'd known they'd likely need help once they got people out of the car. He'd thought ahead. Marjan admired that about him.

"Judd, why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" Grace questioned as they made their way slowly back toward the road. Marjan could already hear sirens in the distance, coming closer. Judd could soon be taken to a hospital.

"It didn't matter Gracie. This pain ain't nothing compared to how I'd feel if I lost you."

Marjan had to glance back at them at that. It was such a sweet sentiment. Grace looked touched as she squeezed his hand. "Alright, but I want you to let the paramedics care for you now Judd. I'm okay, so it's time to take care of you."

"Yes ma'am" he responded as he limped along, leaning on both his wife and Paul for support.

It was several minutes later when Judd was being looked over by the paramedics, and Grace came over to the two fire fighters. "Thank you, for saving me and my husband."

"That's our job," Marjan was quick to answer, before bringing the other woman in for a hug. Her hijab brushed against Grace's shoulder as they hugged. "And you're welcome."

Paul stood back, not planning on being part of the hug, but Grace soon pulled him in, wanting to hug them both. Then, she went with the paramedics and her husband, leaving Paul and Marjan on their own. They had assured the first responders they were fine, after all.

Paul went to retrieve his discarded jacket, but instead of putting it on, he offered it to Marjan. "It could work as a towel," he suggested, offering her a smile. They were both sopping wet, after all. Marjan smiled back, taking the jacket and using it to wipe off some of her clothes.

"Thanks. Too bad about that bar. We'll have to try it when we aren't covered in more liquid than we could drink in one sitting." Paul chuckled as they both got back into the car.

Due to the accident, it took them a bit, but they were able to turn around and start heading back to Paul's apartment, where Marjan could drop him off before heading home herself. The ride was far quieter than it had been before. They were firefighters and used to saving people, but Marjan was still startled by how close Judd and Grace had come to danger that day, outside of their jobs.

When Paul got out of the car, she expected him to just walk away, but instead, he leaned in closer to her, looking her in the eyes. "Hey Marjan? I know Judd was talking about his wife but he was right. Getting hurt wouldn't mean a thing if you were in danger."

Marjan felt like something was caught in her throat as she stared back. What could she say to something like that?

"Any of you, I mean," he clarified after a moment, leaning back and almost breaking some sort of spell that had come over both of them. She'd felt so close to him, but now he was putting distance between them. "Anyone I care about. Especially you guys at the 126."

"Yeah, of course, I feel the same," Marjan answered quickly, trying to ease the tension that Strickland seemed to have created out of think air.

"Well um, goodnight." He didn't struggle for words often, but when he did, Marjan usually teased him. Paul was fun to tease. But tonight … tonight she didn't want to tease him.

"Goodnight Paul." He was usually Strickland … but not tonight. Not after what he'd just said.

Marjan drove home in silence, but the whole ride, she couldn't get the image of Paul's intense eyes out of her mind.


End file.
